Greenbacks wahoo Larned indians

Going out winners was paramount for the 2012 Pratt High School Greenback football team. They did just that with a not unexpected 51-14 romp over the Larned Indians to close out the 2012 campaign.

Neil DePew

Going out winners was paramount for the 2012 Pratt High School Greenback football team. They did just that with a not unexpected 51-14 romp over the Larned Indians to close out the 2012 campaign.Although neither team had playoff hopes on the line, the Greenbacks looked as though they had something to prove while the Indians looked like they couldn’t wait for the season to be over.Pratt set the tone on their opening drive, marching the ball right down the field for a score. Aided at one point by a critical 4th and 3 conversion, the drive culminated in a touchdown run by Skylar Dean.After a Larned punt, the Frogs dipped into their bag of tricks for another lightning score. A Drake Evert to Skylar Dean to a wide open Robby Eggleston double pass put Pratt up 15-0 at 4:20 of the first quarter.A failed onside kick gave Larned the ball in good field position, but Pratt held the Indians on downs. From there, the Greenbacks moved in for another score, this time Skylar Dean running it in from the tailback spot. 21-0 Pratt after the first quarter.The second frame began with Larned mounting a drive against a Pratt defense that seemed to have gotten momentarily complacent. But the Greenbacks sucked it up and made a goal line stand, eventually getting the ball back on their own 1 yd. line. Much of the rest of the second quarter was played on the Pratt end of the field. Heading into the wind, the Greenbacks could neither move nor punt their way out of trouble. But the defense came up big twice more, holding Larned on downs.With 3:35 left in the half, a flurry of scoring occurred. First, Pratt executed a 6 play 77 yard drive marked by three Evert to Shawn Ramos passes and a Brandon Ruckle reception on the Indian 12 yard line. An Evert to Ryan Landry TD pass put Pratt up 27-0.Larned struck back quickly with a touchdown pass aided by the Pratt defender losing his footing. Larned had closed the gap to 30-6, but Pratt was not done scoring yet.With 1:04 remaining, Pratt drove quickly downfield again, catches by Ruckle and Eggleston helping the cause. With 1 second left in the half Cesar Regalado booted a field goal to give Pratt a 30-6 lead at the break.The teams traded the ball back and forth to start the second half, but with the 3rd quarter half over, the Greenbacks lined up in one of their unique formations. Drake Evert was the snapper, but was eligible for a pass the way the Frogs were lined up, and Skylar Dean connected with him to give Pratt a first and goal.From there, RB Anthony Cannata battered his way into the endzone with 3 rushes. 36-6 Frogs.Brady Keith answered back for Larned, breaking tackles on his way to an 88 yd. TD scamper, 36-14 Pratt. Early in the 4th quarter, a Tyler Steinert interception gave Pratt a short field, and Skylar Dean converted another touchdown run.On the Larneds’ next possession, with 10 minutes left in the game, Shawn Ramos drove in the final nail with a “pick 6”. With Pratt up 51-14, JVs got in some playing time to close out the season with no further damage being done by either squad. Pratt ended the year at 4-5. It was a nice exclamation point to what had in some respects been a frustrating year.STATSPratt 21 9 6 15 51Larned 0 6 8 0 14